Stages of Spelling Development

Spelling is all about PATTERNS. Children need to be taught to see the patterns so they learn patterns instead of memorizing every single letter of every single word. Word study teaches students to examine and discover regularities, patterns, and rules. It also increases specific knowledge of words--the spelling and meaning of individual words.

There are five main stages of spelling development:

1. Emergent - Pre-Prep to mid Year One

• Scribble letters and numbers
• Lack concept of words
• Lack letter-sound correspondence
• Pretend to read and write

In the emergent stage, the word study focus is on:

• Develop concept sorts
• Play with speech sounds to develop phonological awareness
• Plan alphabet activities
• Sort pictures by beginning sounds
• Encourage fingerpoint memory of rhymes, dictations, and simple pattern books
• Encourage invented spellings

2. Letter-Name - Prep to mid-Year Two

• Represents beginning and ending sounds
• Has functional concept of word
• Reads word by word in beginning reading materials

In the early letter-name stage, the word study focus is on:

• Collect known words for word banks
• Sort pictures and words by beginning sounds
• Study word families (rimes) that share a common vowel
• Study beginning consonant blends and digraphs
• Encourage invented spelling

In the middle to late letter-name stage, the word study focus is on:

• Sort pictures and words by different short vowel word families
• Sort pictures and words by short vowel sounds and CVC patterns
• Continue to examine consonant blends and digraphs
• Begin simple sound sorts comparing short and long vowel sounds
• Collect known words for word banks (up to 200)

3. Within Word Pattern - Year One to mid-Year Four

• Spells most single-syllable short vowel words correctly
• Spells most beginning consonant digraphs and 2-letter consonant blends
• Attempts to use silent-E markers
• Reads silently and more fluently
• Writes more fluently
• Can edit and revise

In the within-word pattern stage, the word study focus is on:

• Complete daily activities in word study notebooks
• Sort words by long and short vowel sounds and by common long vowel patterns
• Compare words with r-controlled vowels
• After mastering common long vowels, explore less common vowels and diphthongs (OI, OU, AU, OW)
• Review blends and digraphs as needed and examine triple blends and complex consonant units (THR, STR, DGE, TCH, CK)

4. Syllables and Affixes - Year Three to Year Eight

• Spells most single syllable words correctly
• Makes errors at syllable juncture and in unaccented syllables
• Reads with good fluency and expression
• Reads faster silently than orally
• Writes responses that sophisticated and critical

In the syllables and affixes stage, the word study focus is on:

• Examine consonant doubling and inflected endings
• Focus on unaccented syllables such as ER and LE
• Join spelling and vocabulary studies; link meaning and spelling
• Explore grammar through word study
• Sort and study affixes
• Study stress or accent in two-syllable words

5. Derivational Relations - Year Five to Year Twelve

• Have mastered high-frequency words
• Make errors on low-frequency words derived from Greek and Latin combining forms
• Read with good fluency and expression
• Read faster silently than orally
• Write responses that are sophisticated and critical

In the derivational relations stage, the word study focus is on:

• Focus on words that students bring to word study from reading and writing
• Join spelling and vocabulary studies; link meaning and spelling
• Examine common and then less common roots, prefixes and suffixes
• Examine vowel alterations in derivationally related pairs (native, national; combine, combination)
• Explore etymology, especially in the content areas
• Examine content-related foreign borrowings